Can't reach California Paid Family Leave? Claimyr connects you to a live EDD agent in minutes.
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If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
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UPDATE: Finally got through to EDD this morning! Turns out there WAS an issue with the birth date vs. application date like someone here suggested. The agent said my claim got flagged because I applied before my son was born, and it got stuck in some review queue. She manually updated it with the birth certificate info and said I should see payment within 7-10 days. They're going to backpay for the 3 weeks I was off work. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions! This process is way more complicated than it needs to be.
That's great news! So happy you got it resolved. The system is definitely unnecessarily complicated, but glad it worked out in the end!
Thanks for updating us! This is exactly the issue I suspected. For future reference to anyone reading this thread: while you CAN apply for PFL baby bonding before the birth, it often causes processing delays. Ideally, apply after the birth with birth certificate in hand to avoid this common holdup.
Congrats on getting it resolved! This is such a helpful thread for other dads going through the same thing. I'm currently dealing with a similar situation - applied for PFL in late December and still waiting. Based on what you shared, I'm going to call tomorrow and specifically ask about the birth date vs application date issue. It's ridiculous that this is such a common problem but EDD doesn't warn people about it upfront. The fact that your wife's disability was approved so quickly while your paternity leave took over a month really shows how broken the system is for fathers trying to bond with their newborns.
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Has anyone tried going to the unemployment office in person? I'm wondering if that might be faster than dealing with the phone/online stuff.
I did this last month! It was actually not bad. Waited about an hour, but got everything sorted in one go. Just bring ALL your paperwork.
This is big brain energy right here 🧠 Might have to try this myself!
This is such a common issue unfortunately! I went through the exact same thing last year. The upload confirmation on their end doesn't always mean it actually went through to their system. What worked for me was printing out the confirmation page that shows the upload was successful, then when I called I could reference the exact timestamp and file names. Also keep track of how many files you uploaded vs what they show on their end - sometimes only some of them make it through. The whole system is honestly a nightmare but hang in there!
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Anyone else feel like we need a complete overhaul of this system? It's 2023, why are we still dealing with lost documents and hour-long hold times? 🤔
For real tho. My cousin works in tech and says he could build a better system in his sleep 💤💻
Honestly, a tech overhaul is long overdue. This system is so outdated.
This exact thing happened to me last month! I uploaded my son's birth certificate twice and still got that letter. Turns out their system had a glitch and wasn't properly processing PDF files over a certain size. I ended up having to compress the file and re-upload it as a smaller PDF. Also make sure you're uploading it in the right section - I accidentally put mine under "medical documents" instead of "relationship verification" the first time 🤦♀️ Keep screenshots of everything you upload with timestamps as proof!
Oh wow, this is super helpful! I never would have thought about file size being an issue. I'll definitely check that and make sure I uploaded it to the right section. Thanks for the tip about screenshots too - I wish I had done that from the beginning! Did you have to wait long after re-uploading the compressed file before hearing back from them?
This is such great advice! I'm definitely going to try compressing my file and double-check which section I uploaded to. The file size issue makes total sense - government systems are probably running on ancient servers that can't handle larger files properly. Really appreciate you sharing your experience, it gives me hope that this can actually get resolved! 🙏
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Hey OP, just curious - how far in advance are you trying to change your return date? I had to do this once and they told me there was a minimum notice period required.
Oh shoot, I didn't even think about that. It's about two weeks from now. Hope that's enough time! 😰
Two weeks should be okay, I think. But definitely mention it when you call, just to be safe.
I went through this exact situation last month! The key is to call early in the morning (like 8 AM sharp) and have your employer documentation ready. When I called, I explained that my employer had a scheduling conflict and I needed to extend my leave by a few days. The rep was actually pretty understanding once I had all my paperwork in order. Make sure you get a confirmation number for any changes they make - I learned that the hard way! Also, don't be discouraged if the first person you talk to says they can't help - sometimes asking to speak to a supervisor works better. The whole process took about 20 minutes once I got through. You got this! 💪
This is exactly what I needed to hear! Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm definitely going to call at 8 AM sharp tomorrow and have all my documentation ready. The tip about asking for a supervisor if the first person can't help is gold - I wouldn't have thought of that. Really appreciate you taking the time to share all these details! 🙏
Thanks so much for this detailed breakdown! The timing tip about calling at 8 AM is super helpful - I never would have thought about that. And yes, getting that confirmation number is crucial. I had a similar issue with unemployment benefits once where they said they'd make a change but then it never went through because I didn't have a confirmation number to reference. Definitely learned my lesson there! Your experience gives me hope that this won't be as painful as I'm expecting it to be.
Keisha Johnson
Everyone here is PARTIALLY right but missing some details. For PFL baby bonding: 1) No weekly certifications needed 2) You MUST file the claim within 41 days of your baby's birth or you risk losing benefits 3) There's a 7-day waiting period if you didn't already serve it for SDI 4) Benefits come bi-weekly automatically AFTER your claim is approved. I work in HR and see employees mess this up constantly. Also, be prepared for your first PFL payment to take 2-3 weeks to process after approval, so have some savings ready for that gap.
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Zainab Omar
•Thanks for the detailed info! My baby was born 3 weeks ago, so I should be fine with the 41-day window. I did already serve the waiting period for SDI, so hopefully that won't be an issue. Really appreciate everyone's help!
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Anastasia Kuznetsov
Just went through this exact transition 6 months ago! The biggest thing that helped me was keeping all my documents organized in one folder - birth certificate, doctor's clearance letter, and the DE2501F form. I submitted my PFL claim 3 days before my SDI ended and it was seamless. One thing nobody mentioned - make sure your employer knows about the transition too because they might need to adjust your leave status in their system. The automatic bi-weekly payments are SO much better than those weekly certifications. Good luck with your little one!
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Salim Nasir
•This is super helpful! I'm still pretty new to all this paperwork stuff. When you say "doctor's clearance letter" - is that something different from the regular forms my OB has been filling out? And did you have to tell your employer anything specific about switching from SDI to PFL, or do they usually know the process? I want to make sure I don't mess anything up since this is my first baby and first time dealing with any of these benefits!
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